A BODY covered in blood and on fire was found behind a Darlington town centre pub last night.

Detectives swooped on Tubwell Row, after the grisly discovery was made in an alley behind the Nag's Head.

Police confirmed there were suspicious circumstances but would not say whether a murder inquiry had been launched.

Detective Superintendent Dave Jones, leading the investigation, said at the scene that it was too early to comment.

"We are in the very early stages of the inquiry," he said.

Forensic teams and a police sniffer dog scoured the area behind the road, including the grounds of nearby St Cuthbert's Church.

Det Supt Jones said he expected his officers to continue collecting evidence for much of the remainder of the night.

The landlord of the Nag's Head - who would not give his name - told The Northern Echo he found the body at about 7.30pm.

"I saw a fire from my flat window and I came down with a bucket of water to put it out," he said.

"There was a dead body on fire, parts of it on fire. The body was covered in blood. I got my bar staff to phone the ambulance.

"They came first and then the police. I don't know how I feel about it - it's not even entered my head. I'm still in a bit of shock.

"I couldn't tell you really if it was a man or woman, but I feel as though it would have been a man."

He added: "I want to stress this is nothing to do with the pub.

"I just happened to be the person who found it. It's like watching the movies, really."

He said the alley, which runs from the old museum in Tubwell Row to the Boot and Shoe pub, was used as a hang-out by drunks.

First Stop Darlington, a centre for homeless people, is next to the Nag's Head.

Rumours were rife in the town last night about the identity of the person and how he or she died.

Some claimed it was a tramp who was kicked and then set alight.

Others suggested that it was a so-called "happy slapping" incident - where a mobile phone is used to film an attack - which had got out of hand.

But Inspector Colin Nixon, in Durham Police's control room, said nothing could be confirmed other than that a body was found.

He said: "There is a body there and there are suspicious circumstances. It could spin-off into straightforward sudden death or there could be a murder inquiry. It's at that cusp where it has still to be decided."

Two women attending a tai chi class in St Cuthbert's Church Hall, next to the alley, said they heard nothing.

"We went in about 7pm and came out about twenty past nine and saw the police," said one.

The other added: "There was an elderly man sat outside. I hope it's not him. It's not very nice."